Book of Ecclesiastes

The name of the book is Greek tracing-paper from the Hebrew word “coelet” , which means a preacher in the congregation; therefore, in the Greek translation from Hebrew and, accordingly, in the Christian canon of the overwhelming majority of faiths, the book is called Ecclesiastes or Ecclesiastes ( dr. Greek ἐκκλησιαστής - “speaker in the congregation”).

“Kochelet” is a word that is not fixed anywhere else. In form, it is a participle of the verb “kahal” - “to collect, convene,” and is usually interpreted as “the leader of the meeting, speaking to the public” or “preaching in the meeting, teaching the people.” By “assembly” is meant the gathering of full citizens, that is, in the broad sense, the entire Jewish people. There are two difficulties with this interpretation. Firstly, the verb “kahal” in its original form does not exist, and in the causative meaning of “collect, convene” only the form “hifil” is used ^[2] . It turns out that "kohelet" is a participle from a non-existent verb. However, in a poetic language (and we are dealing with a poetic book), this is possible. Secondly, “kokhelet” is a feminine participle, which clearly does not correspond to the gender of the author. But if you recall that abstract concepts in Hebrew, as a rule, are feminine, the “kokhelet” can be interpreted as a teaching wisdom

- Eduard G. Yunts (for the first time the journal " Questions of Philosophy ", 1991, No. 8)

The author of the book from ancient times is recognized - both in Jewish and in Christian tradition - King Solomon ^[3] . Although his name does not literally appear in the book, but the person symbolically taking on the name of Ecclesiastes calls himself the son of David and declares himself to be the king of Jerusalem, and the title of the Syrian translation clearly states: “the book of Coghelet, that is, Solomon, the son of David king of Jerusalem. "

This ancient tradition was shaken in the XVII century by Hugo Grotius , who expressed doubt about its belonging to Solomon. It should be noted, however, that even in the Talmud there were certain doubts - although Solomon was considered the author, it was alleged that the book was recorded later. Doubt was picked up and substantiated by a number of subsequent Protestant scholars who had already decisively denied the authenticity of this book. Opinions fluctuated regarding the time of writing the book, diverging from each other for at least eight centuries. So, Nachtigall attributes it to the time between Solomon and Jeremiah (975-588 BC), Schmidt and Jan to 699-588 BC. e., Delich - to 464-332 BC. e., Gitzig - by 204 BC. e., and Grets - to the reign of Herod the Great . The basis for this is its external and internal signs that do not correspond to the spirit of the time of Solomon. There are foreign - Persian and Aramaic - words; depicted the disasters of life, which were not under Solomon; introduced abstract philosophical terms that are not found in other biblical books.

The influence of Greek philosophy is also noted ^[3] .

The book of Ecclesiastes is in many ways a unique phenomenon in the composition of the Bible, markedly different from all the other books in the way of the author’s thoughts. One can hardly name a book in the Old Testament that would have had a greater impact on the minds of readers over the centuries since its writing ^[4] . Even thinkers far from the faith turned to it as one of the most profound philosophical treatises ^[4] . The objections of the Jewish theologians of the Talmud to the inclusion of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible have been preserved (Shabbat, 30 b). It was directly stated about her that she contains heretical views (Vayikra rabba, 28 a) ^[5] .

Ecclesiastes, describing the picture of the eternal cycle of the universe and man, says that the accumulation of wealth, honor, rank, enjoyment, and even righteous work and the birth of children - all this was already under the sun and all this is vanity (meaningless, aimless) ^[6] . He says that a person always rules over a person, that there have always been corrupt courts, violence and lawlessness:

“... Stupidity has been placed in high posts,

And the worthy are below ...

... I saw slaves on horses

And the princes walking like slaves ...

... I also saw under the sun:

The place of judgment, and there is lawlessness;

A place of truth, and there is a lie ...

... the righteous comprehends that

what the deeds of the wicked deserve

and with the wicked it happens

what the deeds of the righteous deserve ... "

He was also disappointed in the sense of wisdom:

“And I betrayed my heart to

to know wisdom

and to know madness and stupidity;

I learned that this is also the languor of the spirit.

Because in much wisdom there is much sadness;

And whoever multiplies knowledge, multiplies sorrow. "

He says that “a person has no advantage over cattle,” because “as they die, so do these” ^[7] .

The author of the Book of Ecclesiastes is a convinced fatalist : “And I turned and saw that the successful run was won’t by the agile, the victory was not by the brave, bread was won by the wise, and wealth wasn’t by the wise, and well-being was not skillful, but time and opportunity all of them. For man does not know his time. As the fish fall into a destructive net, and as the birds become entangled in snares, so the sons of man are caught in adversity, when it suddenly finds them. ”

The only worthy position in life, in his opinion, is to enjoy the process of life, while realizing all its vanity: “So go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine in the joy of your heart when God favors your work. May your garments be bright at all times, and let the oil on your head not be impoverished. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life, and which God has given you under the sun for all your vain days; because it is your share in life and in your labors, with which you labor under the sun ” ^[5] .

The text ends with the prosaic postscript of the ancient editor of the book, possibly a student of the author, with a poetic insert (chapter 12, verses 9-14) ^[8] . The last lines of the text in the Synodal translation are as follows:

“Let’s hear the essence of everything: fear God and keep His commandments,

because this is all for man;

for God will bring every matter to judgment,

and all is secret, whether it is good or bad. "

Orthodox interpreters see the meaning of the book as a rejection of the earthly bustle, for everything is dust and purposeless, and the only thing that has value is service to God. Even having acquired wisdom, Ecclesiastes says that wisdom is vanity. This is a reflection of the words of Christ : I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and rational, and have revealed them to infants ( Matthew 11:25). Wisdom is to know that the wisdom of this world is useless, and that true wisdom is known by Christ. According to the Apostle Paul, the wisdom of this world is madness before God, as it is written: He captures the wise in their craftiness (First Corinthians 3:19), therefore Ecclesiastes also says:

And I said in my heart: "And I will suffer the same fate as that of a fool: why did I become very wise?" And I said in my heart that this too is vanity.

There, in the letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul, it is said: We are crazy for Christ's sake ( 4:10). It is with this phrase that one can summarize the attitude of Orthodox theologians to human wisdom, while the book of Ecclesiastes gives a more detailed understanding of the rejection of the earthly bustle, and fills the words of the Savior and the Apostle Paul with even deeper meaning. At the very beginning of the book, Ecclesiastes writes: Vanity is vanity, said Ecclesiastes, vanity is vanity - everything is vanity! (Eccl. 1: 2). The word vanity in the book of Ecclesiastes occurs thirty-nine times. In the Hebrew text, this word vanity sounds like a hevel , which in the ancient Aramaic language means breathing, breath , that is, that which quickly disappears, evaporates - hence the figurative meaning: an empty, inconclusive lesson. The prophet Isaiah calls the word havel a cause that is not beneficial, in vain, in vain ( Isa. 30: 7). In Hebrew grammar, the phrase hevel hawalim (vanity of vanities) is translated as a conjugate relation, and it is used to express the ultimate degree of something. For example, in a positive sense: heaven is heaven (see: Deut. 10:14; Psalm 67:34), King of kings (see: Ezek. 7:12; Dan. 2:37). In the book of Ecclesiastes, the conjugate attitude expresses extreme vanity, nonsense: What good is a man from all his labors, which he labors under the sun? (Eccl. 1: 3). In the Orthodox interpretation of these lines, the meaning boils down to the fact that vanity is absolutely everything except serving God, because there is no use; here the concept of benefit is sought, the achievement of which would make a person’s life mundane, meaningful ^{[9] [10]} . St. John Chrysostom in the interpretation of Christ's words about infants ( Matt. 11:25) contrasts the wisdom of this age, which man ascribes to his powers - true and extolling wisdom . Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria interpreted the same words of the Savior as follows: he considers himself wise and relies on his own mind, he does not call on God. The Byzantine theologian Euthymius Zigaben calls the wise and rational - the scribes and Pharisees, who were such in the eyes of the people, and the apostles as infants because of their kindness, simplicity and innocence ^[11] .

The influence on the book of ancient Egyptian religious literature is noted ^[12] :

• “ Harper ’s Song ” is a generalized name for a number of Egyptian texts dating back, most likely, to the Middle Kingdom , but surviving in the monuments of the New Kingdom . These texts adorned the tombs next to the images of harper singers ^[13] . The Harper’s Song clearly resonates with The Epic of Gilgamesh : on the X tablet, the mistress of the gods Siduri says to Gilgamesh: “Where are you striving? Life that you seek, you will not find! The gods, when they created man - they determined death to man, they kept life in their hands. You, Gilgamesh, saturate your stomach, day and night, will you be merry, celebrate the holiday daily, play day and night and dance! Light, let your clothes be clean, hair clean, wash yourself with water. Look how the child holds your hand, with your embrace please the friend - only this is human! ”
• The text of Ecclesiastes is characterized by contradictory statements. Therefore, when compared with ancient Egyptian monuments, a version arises that it is built as a dialogue. The personified “Heart” as a constant interlocutor of the author is the motive of Egyptian literature. For example, in Hahaperrazeneb’s Thoughts with His Heart, the Heliopolis priest talks with his heart and complains about the injustice surrounding him. There is a resemblance to the text “ Conversation of the Disappointed with your Ba ” In this text we constantly see “I opened my mouth to my Ba ”, “my Ba told me”, “my Ba opened my mouth to my Ba”, which finds a parallel with the biblical: “I said - I with my heart”, “ I gave my heart to investigate, ”etc. There is a textual resemblance to“ Reflections of Hahaperraseneb . ”
  • “The foregoing has already been said, and there is nothing for the next generations to boast with the utterances of their ancestors. The speaker has not yet uttered a new one, but he will say it. And the other will not add anything of his own to the words of his ancestors and will only say: “This is what the ancestors once said,” and no one will know what he intended to say. He who does so - seeks his death, for a lie is everything, and others will not remember his name ”(Xah recto 3-6).
  • “The tears of the oppressed and there is no comforting to them, and in the hand of those who oppress them their strength, and there is no comforting to them” (Ekk. 4: 1) => “There is no strength for an unfortunate man to be saved from the strongest than he himself” (Hah. Verso 4)
  • “There is no one who does not do evil - everyone commits it” (hah. Verso 1-2) => “There is no righteous man on this earth who will do good and will not sin” (Ek. 7:20)
  • “He turned to his heart. Come to me, my heart, that I may speak with you. ” (v1)
• The book of Ecclesiastes as a typical example of the genre of " literature of wisdom " widespread in the Ancient East.

The Atheistic Dictionary notes ^[3] :

Ecclesiastes is a book without a plot . It lacks pictures of modern society. Its author is not a chronicler or prose writer . He is a thinker. Ecclesiastes is a multilayer work. The laughter of denial and a smile of affirmation, search and disappointment, subtle observation and wise generalization are interwoven into a single knot. A rebel against the chimeras of Judaism , the author of Ecclesiastes openly expresses his negative attitude to the theory of “the other world” and heavenly judgment: “The fate of the sons of men and the fate of animals is the same fate: as they die, so do these, and one breath does not exist for everyone man has advantages over cattle ”(3:19). He does not believe in the otherworldly Kingdom of God .

• The canonical book of the EKCLESIASTA or the PREACHER (Text of the Synodal edition.) . See also s: Book of Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher , 1876
• The book of Ecclesiastes (translation, opening remarks and comments by A. E. Grafov) // "Private correspondent" (11.16.2012).
• Kogelet , translation of Rabbi David Yosifon
• The Ecclesiastes , translated by I.I. Vegery, 2006
• List of other translations

• Ecclesiastes // Atheistic Dictionary / A.I. Abdusamedov, R.M. Aleinik, B.A. Aliyev, and others; Under the total. ed. M.P. Novikova . - 2nd ed., Rev. and add. - M .: Politizdat , 1985 .-- S. 148. - 512 p. - 200,000 copies.
• Fast G. prot. Interpretation on the book of Ecclesiastes. - Krasnoyarsk: Yenisei Evangelism, 2009 .-- 346 p.
• Lopukhin A.P. Ecclesiastes // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Akimov, V.V. Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes and literary monuments of Ancient Egypt . - Minsk: Ark, 2012. - (Appendix to the biblical almanac "Tablets." Series: "Monographs on Biblical Studies", No. 1). - ISBN 978-985-7006-61-8 .

• The book of Ecclesiastes in Hebrew .